Released 1940 (1940) Genre Western swing Writer(s) Tommy Duncan | Format 10-inch 78 rpm record Label OKeh | |
Recorded Saginaw, Texas, April 16, 1940 | ||
"Time Changes Everything" is a Western swing standard with words and music written by Tommy Duncan, the long-time vocalist with Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. Written as a ballad, the lyrics tell of a failed romance and of the hurt that has healed. Each verse ends with:
Time changes everythingThe Texas Playboys recorded "Time Changes Everything" during an April 16, 1940, recording session in Saginaw, Texas. It was first released on the OKeh label, and has been reissued many times. (05753). It became one of the top singles that year. Artists ranging from Roy Rogers (Decca 5908, 1940, with Spade Cooley on fiddle) to Woody Herman and His Orchestra (Decca 3751, 1941) soon brought out competing records. The Roy Rogers version reached number four on Billboard's "Hillbilly...Hits" chart in October, 1941
The Playboys recorded another version on July 1, 1960, in Hollywood, California. This version was also released on many labels. In 1968 yet another version was recorded in Nashville with J. Preston doing the vocal.
It has been recorded numerous times since, including on tribute albums by George Jones (George Jones Sings Bob Wills), Ray Price ("San Antonio Rose") and Merle Haggard (A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills)).